2013 Armchair BEA: Genre Fiction and a Giveaway

Tomorrow is the big giveaway day for The Armchair BEA, but I’m posting a giveaway early today on this post because it fits in with the theme of genre fiction – please check it out at the bottom of this post!!!

Today’s topic for The 2013 Armchair BEA is genre fiction. What is genre fiction? Genre fiction is also known as “popular” fiction and is typically plot-driven (although this is not to say there are not spectacular characters in genre fiction!). Genre fiction includes:

Fantasy

Historical Fiction

Suspense-Thriller

Horror

Science Fiction

Short Story

Mystery

Humor

Women’s Fiction

Although my first choice in reading is usually literary fiction (visit me tomorrow to read more about that), I also enjoy well-written genre fiction which also sometimes overlaps into the Literary definition. Today I want to talk about four different genres which I love, with recommendations in each category.

Historical Fiction

In historical fiction, the setting is usually real and drawn from history. Although the main characters are usually fictional, these books often contain real historical persons.

I love historical fiction because it is a great way to learn about historical events without reading “dry” textbooks. Some of my favorite historical fiction writers are: Khaled Hosseini, Mitchell James Kaplan, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Amitav Ghosh, Kathleen Kent, Irene Nemirovsky, and Rose Tremain.

I’m giving away a debut novel in the historical fiction genre today – go to the bottom of this post to enter!!!!

Are you new to this genre? Want some recommendations for great historical fiction? Try any of these:

What works of historical fiction have you read and loved?

Suspense-Thriller

There is nothing better than being scared out of one’s wits by a deftly written suspense-thriller novel. I admit, this is a genre which I have loved ever since my teens when I first started reading Stephen King (who is actually more in the horror genre, but his work is certainly suspenseful!). Suspense-thrillers make your palms sweat and your heart race, they usually include a twisting plot and a heroine or hero whose life is in peril. Some of my favorite writers in this genre include: Kate Morton (who writes gothic suspense-thrillers), Emily St. John Mandel, Laura Lippman, Benjamin Black, and John Hart (the king of Southern suspense).

Are you new to this genre? Want some recommendations for great suspense-thrillers? Try any of these:

What suspense-thrillers have you read and loved?

Women’s Fiction

Women’s Fiction has been the focus of a lot of negative attention over the last couple of years with authors writing in this genre complaining that their work is demeaned with the label “chick lit.” For me, Women’s Fiction is comfort reading. It is also usually highly emotional or meaningful literature, and many times there is a level of humor which lightens the plot. The works I have loved the most in this genre have memorable characters who have touched my heart. My favorite writers in Women’s Fiction include: Elizabeth Berg, Eleanor Brown, Katherine Center, Allie Larkin, Anna Quindlen, Cathleen Schine, Anne Tyler, and Marisa de los Santos.

Are you new to this genre? Want some recommendations for great Women’s Fiction? Try any of these:

What works of Women’s Fiction have you read and loved?

Short Story

Short stories have always been a genre I have loved. The short story is a difficult format to nail and so when I find an author who sweeps me away in just a few pages, I am hooked. Some of my favorite short story writers include: Megan Mayhew Bergman, Catherine Brady, Stephen King, Jhumpa Lahiri, Bruce Machart, Christopher Meeks, and Simon Van Booy.

Are you new to this genre? Want some recommendations for great short story collections? Try any of these:

What collections of Short Fiction have you read and loved?

GIVEAWAY

Win a copy of BURIAL RITES

Thanks to the publisher, I am thrilled to be able to offer a copy of Hannah Kent’s first novel, a work of historical fiction, to one lucky reader. As soon as I read the description of this book, I knew I needed to get myself a copy to read…and I hope you are as excited about this novel as I am.

*Book giveaways here on Caribousmom are NOT paid promos. Although books for giveaway have been supplied by the publisher, I do not accept payment to host these special events.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Burial Rites is inspired by a true story of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829. When Agnes is charged with the brutal murder of her former master, she is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. At first the family who is tasked with housing her, avoids Agnes. But as Agnes’s death looms, the farmer’s wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they’ve heard. Described as “riveting and rich with lyricism,” Burial Rites promises to “evoke a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and ask the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?” This debut novel is getting glowing early reviews which describe it as gripping, original, and haunting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hannah Kent was born in Adelaide in 1985. As a teenager she traveled to Iceland on a Rotary Exchange, where she first heard the story of Agnes Magnusdottir. Hannah is the co-founder and deputy editor of Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings, and is completing her PhD at Flinders University. In 2011 she won the inaugural Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award. Burial Rites is her first novel. Learn more about Kent and her work by visiting the author’s website.

HOW TO ENTER

Contest is open from May 29th through June 3rd at 5:00 pm (PST)

Contest is open to US mailing addresses.

I will draw ONE winner randomly using Random.org and announce their name here on my blog sometime after the close of the contest.

I love suspense thrillers, too, and Laura Lippman made my list. As for Women’s Fiction, you named several of my favorites: Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, Anne Tyler, and Katherine Center. I didn’t name them all on my post….

I don’t read a lot of short story collections, but I did read a couple of collections by Elizabeth Berg.

My genre post is so short in comparison! I do love your post here – and I’m a big fan of all the genres you listed. Short stories are my book candy – I’ve started fitting them in when I’m too indecisive to decide what to read, that way I’m not wasting valuable reading time

What a great list of genre fiction! I’m a big fan of suspense / thrillers. I personally love Chelsea Cain and really enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. I love historical fiction too. You’ve listed a lot of books I want to read, but haven’t had the chance.